


Caged Shadows [Book 1/3 of the Mercenary series]

by orphan_account



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 19:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7374676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mercenaries are among the powerful ones, and yet they are outcasted from society. So to prove their place, they take the jobs no one else can do. They do the tasks that would normally make a person question their morals. And because of that, it gives them a negative reputation but they are also amongst the most feared, depending on how well they carry out these jobs.<br/>So when a string of murders starts going unsolved, the head of police goes to one of the best mercenaries around. Hannah is enlisted to help solve the murders but the results may shake the foundations of society as we know it right down to it's core.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caged Shadows [Book 1/3 of the Mercenary series]

**[PART I-INNOCENCE]**

Hannah didn't know what to expect when she was called down to the secret police's headquarters. There wasn't any other information provided with the request, so she had no idea what to expect from the head of police. The mercenary huffed as she finally made it to her destination. She looked up at the building, it served as the headquarters for both the secret police and the city's police force. So it comes as no surprise to see officers swarming in and out of the doors.

Hannah walked up the stairs, towards the front doors. Upon pushing open the closest doors, she was greeted with bright lights and the sounds of chatter. The front foyer was crowded with officers and citizens alike, going about their business. Honestly though, Hannah could care less about what they were up to, and she doubted many of them cared very much for why she was here.

The mercenary hooked a left, striding down a corridor. She knew where the Head Chief's office is, so there was no need to stop and ask. It was unnaturally bright inside the building, and just as unusually clean. It always came as somewhat of a surprise to her to see how clean it always it is. She never liked being here, apart from the dirty looks she always got from everyone she walked past, the atmosphere made her uneasy. It just feels like no matter how many times she's been here, or will come here, this feeling doesn't seem to go away or change.

But she remained calm, it wasn't like this was anything too foreign to her. As she approached the door to his office, she exhaled, a feeling of dread settled in her gut. It didn't get any better as she pushed open the heavy, wooden door, revealing the office inside. Hannah had been in here once before, for a minor job she had been recruited for a while back. But back then, she had only needed to be here when she drop off the target.

The office itself was relatively tidy. A large bookshelf sat to one side of the room, a large globe took another corner. There were two chairs sitting in front of the chief's desk, him sitting behind it. The room itself was white in colour. There was a stack of papers on his desk, and a cup of coffee that looked like it hadn't been touched since it had been placed there.

"Nikolai. What in hell is so important that you couldn't just tell me in the message?" She immediately inquired upon closing the door behind her and sitting down. Nik looked up at her, gaze serious and steady.

"We need your help." The way he said it was more than enough to hook in Hannah's interest, as for as long as she had known this man, she couldn't recall him ever sounding so anxious. 

"My help? Is this because none of your guys want to take the case or is it because you're short-handed on officers?" Her question was met with silence. Then something in her head clicked. "Or is because you're desperate? Because I know for a fact that you only come to a merc for small jobs none of the officers want to take, or as a last resort because all other options have been exhausted."

The reply was delayed but his glare was fixed on her, as steady as ever.

"I'm sure you've heard about the string of murders that's taken place over the course of the last four months. There was another murder last night, which accounts for the eighteenth one in this time period."

Hannah stared at him blankly for a few seconds, processing the information. It took her all of thirty seconds to come up with a reply.

"And you haven't caught him yet?" 

Nik sighed, as if he were running out of patience. But Hannah knew too well that this wasn't actually the case. Nik had become something of a parental figure to Hannah, though he'd never admit to it. The two met sometime after her parents were found dead just outside their house. It was also around this time that Hannah's powers started emerging but was never suspected of the murders of her parents. She hadn't killed them. The case had long gone cold and the killer was never found. But since then, Nik would be one of the few officers who would dare interact with the girl in any given situation. Though, that doesn't stop anyone from shooting dirty looks her way as she walks through the building.

"No. We haven't. From the amount of evidence we do have, we should've been able to already, but we can't seem to pin the guy." The pair stared at each other for a few seconds, before anything else was said. "I was hoping you can help out with this."

Hannah paused before saying anything to him, a thoughtful expression crossing her features.

"I could but you know the drill as well as anyone else. What do I get out of this?"

Nik knew this was coming, it was the reason he was reluctant to go to a merc for help. But he was running out of options, they've exhausted all their working ones. There wasn't another choice they could rely on, and they didn't want to drag this out more than they need to.

"Name something, and we'll go from there." They both knew Hannah was by far the best at her job. She seemed to know all the right people, knew exactly where to find them, and when. It was odd how accurate she would be most times, but no one questioned it because at the end of the day, she would always get the job done well, and quickly. This meant she got enough from the jobs to easily take care of herself, even if it was bare minimum. 

The girl in question hummed as thoughts raced though her head. There was a lot of things she could ask for from the head of police. Nik watched her, knowing that whatever she wanted was not going to be a small price to pay. 

"How about...." She paused, which didn't help ease Nik's nerves about the girl.There was an air of unease that settled in the room. "You give me full authority and access to everything I need while on this case."

The silence that ensued was overwhelming. Nik knew she was the only merc he could rely on and trust with a job of this much importance. So he didn't have to consider it for very long.

"Fine, but only while you're on this job. Once you are done or if you quit the case, it's off." Hannah nodded, as she hadn't expected any differently from the man. She huffed, getting up out of her seat. 

"Alright, sounds like a deal." When there wasn't a response, she turned to exit the room. But just as she started to turn the knob to leave, Nik spoke up.

"Oh, one last thing before you leave. I assigned one of the rookies as your partner for this case. Try to be nice to him" Hannah looked over her shoulder at Nik, narrowing her eyes at him. Normally, she would rarely ever take on a partner on a job, much less a rookie as a partner. But she knew she couldn't argue with Nik, it was pointless. It's like trying to convince a rock to move. "You can meet up with him in the main lobby on your way out."

Hannah gave him one last nod before exiting the room. Thoughts swarmed her mind as she made her way down the crowded corridor. Her bright blue eyes flickered around, watching the people around her. Her fingers twitched, aching to reach for a knife she had hidden in her boot. There was something about this situation that made her restless, antsy. Once she reached the main lobby, her gaze swept around the room several times, searching the large, brightly lit room. She caught sight of a senior officer waving at her to catch her attention, motioning for her to come over once the pair caught each other's eyes. 

The mercenary sighed, walking over. She never liked the rookies very much, and they never really took a liking to her either. This one was no different as he glaring at her so hard, she was sure he was trying to to make her spontaneously combust on the spot.

The rookie couldn't have been older than than 19 years old, wide blue green eyes, about 5'11, along with the seemingly permanent scowl that was directed at her. Surprisingly, he was dressed casually, light blue t shirt, a pair of jeans.

"You trying to mentally set me on fire or some shit? It's not working very well." She smirked, as she watched him huff and decide to stop looking at her altogether. She turned to the elder officer, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. "Okay, Darren. You give him the talk?"

Darren nodded, dark eyes meeting her bright ones. He then turned back to her would-be partner.

"Christopher, behave yourself. This is your first case, don't get yourself killed." 

Hannah rolled her eyes as she heard the boy, Chris, mutter something under his breath. She didn't give either much time to say much else as she turned on her heels to depart from the building altogether. She didn't want to be there longer than she needed to be. Behind her, in the midst of all the sounds of conversation, she could hear footsteps quickly catching up to her, then matching her pace as they pulled up beside her. She took a quick sideways glance to see Chris but said nothing as the pair walked out of the building in silence. Hannah wasn't one to make much for conversation, now more than ever because she was trying to figure out their first move. The pair stopped at the corner, though Hannah doubted it was because they were planning to cross the street. She looked at Chris, who was standing next to her, hands stuffed in his pockets, watching the cars drive by.

"Why'd you join the police force?" The question was random and it managed to surprise Chris enough, as he gave her a look that resembled a deer in headlights. Hannah gave him a curious look, lips forming a slight smile. He regained his composure quickly before replying.

"Why do you wanna know?" His eyes searched hers, as if he were expecting for her to be kidding, for her to say she really didn't want to know. Chris wasn't used to mercenaries being nice to him. In fact, in his eyes, mercs weren't the kind of people he wanted to associate with, they were never the nicest either. Orphaned after his parents were killed by a mercenary, he had grown up having to take care of both him and his sister. They had been on their own for years, drifting from city to city, finding odd jobs  to do to survive. Chris lucked out when Nik offered him the job. 

"We're partners, and it might be while before we're done with this case." Hannah shrugged, gaze shifting to the street in front of them.  He watched her, mouth slightly open. Chris was at a loss as to what to say, on how to to respond. But he shook his head, gaze hardened.

"I wanted to do something good for once." Hannah turned to look at him, she wanted so badly to ask him if he knew what he had known what he was getting himself into. She wanted to know what he had done to make him say that. 

"Why do you say that?" There was silence, the city around them seemed to slow down as Chris struggled to answer. He took a breath, shaky but more sure than he had ever been.

"I did some things. But I'm sure nothing I did would ever add up to what you've done." Hannah's bright blue eyes hardened, turning ice cold. 

"We should get going." Her tone shifted, now as cold as her eyes had become.

"What's our first move?" Chris hated not knowing what to do, which meant it forced him to take Hannah's orders. The mercenary in question stretched, a few pops and clicks sounded as she did.

"We wait. There really isn't anything that can be done at the last crime scene, so we wait for the next murder." Chris almost rolled his eyes in response, but he refrained from doing so as she wasn't looking. But he didn't question it, as she wasn't wrong. In fact, he actually agreed as there really wasn't anything they really could do until the next murder.

"Let's go, there's no point in standing around." The pair remained silent for a long time as they decided to walk.

Dusk rolled around as the sun started to drop below the horizon. But neither had anticipated that they wouldn't get to go home tonight. Because for the second time that week, another murder was to take place.

**Author's Note:**

> First story on this site and I figured I'd post the one original story idea I've been working on for a while. Next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Hope you guys like it.
> 
> With love-  
> ~Galaxy


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